Starliner during the ISS docking procedure on May 20th. Photo: NASA Johnson
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner has been authorized to leave the International Space Station, setting the stage for the final act of this important demonstration of the end-to-end system. You can watch all the action live right here.
Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is running fast. The six-day mission began on Friday, May 19 with the launch of an unmanned Starliner placed on top of a ULA Atlas V rocket. The spacecraft managed to reach its proper orbit despite some propulsion errors, which it allowed him to dock at the space station the next day. Docking tests have been completed and now it’s time for Starliner to return home.
The spacecraft is scheduled to disconnect from the Harmony module at 2:36 p.m. (all the time east) and perform its parachute-assisted landing at approximately 6:49 p.m. NASA will provide full coverage of these return activities starting at 2 p.m. The broadcast will stop briefly once Starliner completely completes its exit from the ISS, but will resume at 5:45 p.m. to cover re-entry and atmospheric landing in the western United States. Live webcasts will be available on NASA TV, the Boeing website, YouTube, and the live streaming below.
The unmanned Starliner is scheduled to land near the White Sands spaceport in New Mexico. Mission operators will check the time at the landing site approximately one hour before ISS decoupling and then conduct the “go / no go” survey 45 minutes before decoupling. The team will test again on Friday if there is any delay.
This is how the final phase of OFT-2 will be developed, according to the profile of the mission:
When he is allowed to leave the space station, Starliner disengages, performs a flying maneuver and positions himself so that the orbital burn decreases from orbital velocity in preparation for atmospheric re-entry, where it is heated. of re-entry of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius). . Starliner will launch the front thermal shield about 30,000 feet (9 km) above the ground, followed by the deployment of a series of parachutes. First, two drug parachutes continue to brake Starliner, followed by the extraction of the three main parachutes. At 3,000 feet [914 meters] from the ground, the air cushions inflate to further absorb the initial forces of the landing, cushioning the crew for a smooth and safe return to Earth.
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In fact, unlike the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which makes a landing in the ocean, the Boeing Starliner makes a padded landing with air cushions in the desert. Crew Dragon has been qualified by humans since 2020, but OFT-2, if it goes well, will advance the program in that direction. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, as part of NASA’s commercial crew program, is lagging behind due to two previous failed test attempts, one in 2019 and one last year.
Expedition 67 crew members Bob Hines and Kjell Lindgren closed the spacecraft’s hatch at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday. Hines said during the farewell ceremony: “It has been an honor to be involved in this and to be a little gear of the wheel that is the Commercial Crew Program and the amazing teams, the operational teams, the design teams, who mounted this vehicle. ”
Earlier, a Canadarm2-mounted camera allowed a close inspection of Starliner’s thermal protection system, cleaning the spacecraft to re-enter it. Hines and Lindgren have spent the last few days testing and inspecting the vehicle, as well as removing 500 pounds of incoming cargo and adding 600 pounds of outgoing cargo for the return trip home (including reusable tanks that provide air to members of the ISS crew).
When it lands, Boeing’s OFT-2 mission will officially end, but much work remains to be done. Mission planners will examine mission data to determine the spacecraft’s performance. As noted, the vehicle experienced propulsion failures during the orbital insertion burn, so this is already a matter of concern. Boeing and NASA expect to conduct a manned Starliner test later this year, but that will depend heavily on the results of that test.